>> go get 'em, folks. also, the woman who could be america's next top diplomat. susan rice, now on a collision course with senators again today. her first meeting, a planned makeup became a breakup. sounding the alarm on pork safety. a potentially deadly superbug found in many samps. we're going to tell you what you need to know. and the all-star of the all-stars. a new mirrorball champ at "dancing with the stars." good morning, everyone. we begin on this wednesday with, what else? powerball. >> of course. let's get the bad news out of the way first here. experts say you have a better chance of getting hit by an asteroid than winning tonight's big jackpot. >> but the good news, the jackpot is up to least $500 million. and it could go higher. when players are lining up in

the dusty arizona desert for an hour and a half just to buy a lottery ticket, you know it's big. >> i hope i don't have a heart attack. >> reporter: most of them came across the border from california, which is not 1 of the 42 states, district of columbia or the u.s. virgin islands that play the game. this morning, ticket sales are through the roof. they're selling at an unbelievable 105,000 tickets per minute. but let's face it. most players will be losers. >> oh, no. don't put that on camera. >> reporter: abc's ryan owens spoke to smu math professor scott norris. >> professor, with so many people playing this time around, does that hurt my odds? >> your odds are the same no matter how many people play. >> reporter: how did the jackpot get so big? nobody has won it all since october 6th. that's 16-straight drawings. that has lottery officials

saying there's about a 16% chance someone will hit it big tonight. >> winner. >> reporter: does anyone have an advantage? well, indiana has had 38 powerball winners. missouri, following with 26. the most tickets are sold in florida, which has seen four winners in just the past three years. advisers say winners should take a lump sum payment. and for a singer winner at this point, that would mean walking away with a cool $327 million before taxes. the looming fiscal cliff is one reason you may want to take that lump sum. if no deal is reached, and taxes go up, most financial advisers say that could cost the winner millions. and with that fiscal cliff ahead, president obama is mounting a full-court press, making his case for higher taxes on wealthier americans, even as critics accuse him of being back in campaign mode. he'll meet today with mittle-class meshes who taxes

will go up if there's no deal by the end of the year. and he talked to high-powered ceos about cutting the nation's deficit. susan rice, who is the front-runner to be the next secretary of state, is back to capitol hill for more meetings with some of her harshest critics. the topic this time, her comments after the attack on the consulate in libya on september 11th. tahman bradley has the latest from washington. >> reporter: u.n. ambassador susan rice faces more tough diplomacy on capitol hill. rice is the leading candidate for secretary of state in president obama's second term. but prominent gop lawmakers are trying to stop her from getting the post. saying she misled the public about the attack on the consulate in libya. in meetings yesterday, rice tried to smooth things over. it didn't work. >> the concerns i have are greater today than they were before. and we're not even close to getting the basic answers. >> we are significantly troubled

by many of the answers. >> reporter: five days after the attack and a round of tv interviews, rice placed blame on an anti-muslim video. >> it seems to have been hijacked, let us say, by individual clusters of extremists. >> reporter: but the administration later said the attack was the work of terrorists. behind closed doors, rice told lawmakers the information she received came directly from the cia. the white house is standing by rice, insisting there's no unanswered questions about her television appearances. >> the focus on, some might say obsession on, comments made on sunday shows, seems to me, and to many, to be misplaced. >> reporter: president obama hasn't decided who he will nominate to replace hillary clinton as secretary of state. if it's rice, there could be a fight. but, rob and paula, it does appear she would have the votes needed to be confirmed. >> see how that plays out. tahman bradley in washington for us.

thanks, tahman. and in egypt, cairo's tahrir square is a tinderbox as protests grow against president mohamed morsi. more than 200,000 people jammed the square to protest morsi's layton power grab last week. the crowd chanting for morsi to leave, echoing the call from the revolution that tossed hosni mubarak. an investigation has revealed that the factory made clothes for walmart, sears and our parent company, disney. and there have been three factory officials suspected of locking the doors, dooming those workers inside. 112 people died in the fire. the tampa socialite caught up in the petraeus sex scandal is now fighting back. attorneys for jill kelley are going after a new york man, who claimed kelley tried to use her connection to petraeus to broker a deal. this morning's "new york times"

reports the investigation into e-mails between kelley and general john allen, are only about 70 messages of the thousands the 2 exchanged. bob dole is expected to be released from a washington area hospital this morning, after undergoing a routine procedure. dole ran for president against bill clinton back in 1996. people of northern california are bracing for their first major storm of the season today. and it's a doozy. bringing torrential rain through sunday. residents picked up sandbags yesterday to protect their homes from flooding. the storm is stirring up high winds and up to two feet of wet snow in the mountains. good packing snow. >> spoken like a fan of winter. time, now, for the weather from across the country. that storm also stretches into oregon and washington state, with downpours from portland to seattle. it will be milder than normal in the rockies. but cooler along the gulf coast. drying out in the east, though, with sunny skies all the way down to florida.

>> 80 in miami and phoenix. around 60 in salt lake city and albuquerque. 40s in the pacific northwest as well as the northeast. 14 when we come back this morning, an apple executive behind the messed-up maps. you get new directions, let's say, right out the door. and how's this for change for a dollar. a move to dump the dollar bill. then, the $500 million dilemma. a little advice ahead of the big powerball drawing tonight. [ female announcer ] now get high speed internet at home

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♪ welcome back, everyone. the markets lost ground yesterday, after discouraging news about the so-called fiscal

cliff, when tax cuts expire and drastic spending cuts kick in at the end of the year. the senate's top democrat says he's frustrated by the lack of progress. the dow fell 89 points. the nasdaq index was off nine. big tobacco is being told to confess. a federal judge is ordering the tobacco companies to admit publicly that they lied about the dangers of smoking. they must also take out ads that say smoking is responsible for some 1,200 deaths every, single day. the judge, yesterday, gave explicit instructions on the wording of the ads. still, no reaction yet from the tobacco companies themselves. a congressional watchdog agency says it is time to dump the dollar bill. the government accountability office says the u.s. could save almost $150 million a year by switching to dollar coins. now, bills only last about 18 months while coins last for years. but the gao admits, the public prefers paper money. >> all that jingling in your pocket would get annoying.

a second apple executive has reportedly lost his job over the map app flap. richard williamson supervised the mapping team. apple dumped google maps for its own software. but as many of you know, that software was not nearly as good. the map flap hasn't hurt apple sales, though. but it was a rare black eye for the darling of silicon valley. and it was 70 years ago this week that 1 of the most beloved movies ever opened. you can celebrate "casablanca's" debut by watching it on the internet tonight for free. of all the gin joints in town, the one to go was "casablanca." the movie's facebook page at 7:00 p.m. eastern and pacific. >> say it. >> here's looking at you, kid. i can't do it. >> a classic. coming up next, a dressing down on capitol hill. what were naked protesters doing at the office of the speaker of the house? >> we're going to blur it all out for you, though. and angus t. jones is

cleaning up his comments about "two and a half men" being filthy. and another about-face. the new jersey mayor who is rethinking turning sandy wreckage into a tourist attraction. would love this, huh? jack? jaaack? jaaack?! jack?! looks good ladies! jack! come on, stop the car. jack! no, no, no, no, no! the only thing more surprising than finding the perfect gifts.. niice. ...is where you find them. how did you know? i had a little help. this is how to gift. this is sears. i had[ designer ]eeling enough of just covering up my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough. ♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin.

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♪ and then there are the good decisions. like esurance. their coverage counselor tool helps you choose the right coverage for you at a great price. [ stomach growls ] without feeling queasy. that's insurance for the modern world. esurance. now backed by allstate. click or call. drivers in pennsylvania could run into black ice this morning, a day after snow and some freezing rain made for a very treacherous commute. yesterday's messy storm triggered a series of accidents in the central and eastern sections of that state. cars slammed into one another and ran off the road, leaving drivers stuck in traffic for hours. safe driving, everybody. >> yes. now, for a look at morning road conditions. a big storm brings soaking rain to highways, from northern california, into the pacific northwest. mountain passes are going to be

covered with snow in the cascades and sierras. and it should be a pretty smooth ride for the rest of the country. >> if you're flying today, weather-related airport delays are only expected in the city of san francisco. and back to the news this morning. there's some new food for thought about meat safety. and this time, it's pork. an investigation found that most of the pork tested had potentially harmful bacteria, with much of it resistant to antibiotics. >> "consumer reports" tested 198 samples of pork and found 69% of samples contaminated with bacteria that can cause food poisoning in people, especially children. food cooking and hand washing can help minimize the risk. they advise you to use a different cutting board when cutting meat, as opposed to your produce. >> smart advice. as world aids day approaches, new government figures show that 1,000 cases are cropping up every month. researchers found one in five hiv infections occur among gay

and bisexual teens and men between 13 to 24. and half of the young people infected are not even aware of it. aids activists are zeroing in on house speaker john boehner. at least seven of them took off their clothes outside his capitol hill office, in protests to potential spending cuts to hiv programs. saying they wanted to highlight the, quote, naked truth. the three nude women were arrested. but the men left before police arrived. and a family tragedy overnight on new york's long island. a 6-year-old boy died when this city bus smashed into a home. the driver was apparently trying to avoid a pedestrian when he lost control of that bus and crashed into a front bedroom. the child died later at the hospital. and that jersey shore rollercoaster that was swept off a pier and into the ocean by hurricane sandy, is going to be removed after all. at first, the mayor of seaside

heights said the remains of the partially submerged rollercoaster would make a great tourist attraction. he now says, these were his words, that was not the brightest comment. >> very few people would disagree. teen actor, angus t. jones, is clarifying his comments that denounced the show "two and a half men," the sitcom he's appeared on since the age of 10. in a youtube video, jones, who is now a devout seventh day adventist, called the show filth and urged viewers to top watching it. but the 19-year-old now says he has high regard for his fellow actors. and he released this statement. quote, i apologize if my remarks reflect me showing indifference and disrespect of my colleagues and a lack of appreciation of the extraordinary opportunity of which i have been blessed. i never intended that. the baseball hall of fame class of 2013 takes its first step towards enshrinement today when the ballot that writers will vote on is announced. among those likely to be named for the first time, sammy sosa, barry bonds and

roger clemens, all whose careers were tainted by accusations they used performance-enhancing drugs. now, any player on the ballot must receive votes from 75% of the writers to be inducted from the baseball writers of america. the results will be announced january 9th. now, some basketball and highlights that will make my pal, rob, the north carolina alum, not very happy. >> randy scott here with your espn update. we start with a slugfest in top-ranked indiana, looking to hold court here, hosting unc early. the transition game was working. and ahead to cody zeller. works the big fella that runs the floor. hoosiers up six. later, another steal. in transition, victor oladipo had 19. two of them were style points. final seconds of the first half, yogi ferrell, gets it back. and cody zeller finished with 20. indiana wins by 24. to the pros.

kobe bryant battling the flu. the lakers battling the pacers. kobe's going to give it a go. and abusing poor roy hibbert in the fourth quarter. lakers down two after the missed free throw, though. here's your two right here. pau gasol inside. dwight howard. he won't miss too many from there. an 8-0 lakers run, ties it at 74-74. back comes indiana, up one. a little teardrop from george hill, over howard. pacers up three. kobe, what have you got? got it tied. 40 points, 10 rebounds. we're tied at 77-77. hill would drive on dwight howard one more time. and that is your game-winner. take another look. over both big men. gasol and howard got nothing. pacers got a win. it was the eighth time that kobe bryant accounted for better than 50% of his team's points. i'm randy scott. have a great day. >> my tar heels will bounce back. i'm keeping the faith. thank you. up next, "the pulse," and playing for keeps. what if you really do win tonight's powerball?

nice thought. >> there's a chance. and oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy. and more boys. the amazing baby streak that has one hospital seeing blue. and , you can save the things you love, bring them all together, and be inspired like never before. scrapbooking. create yours with nook hd - and even bigger with hd+. find yours at barnes & noble. that was me... the day i learned i had to start insulin for my type 2 diabetes. me... thinking my only option was the vial and syringe dad used. and me... discovering once-daily levemir® flexpen. flexpen® is prefilled. doesn't need refrigeration for up to 42 days. no drawing from a vial. dial the exact dose.

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aveeno has an oat formula, now proven to build a moisture reserve, so skin can replenish itself. that's healthy skin for life. only from aveeno. time to check, "the pulse." it's what everyone's talking about and dreaming about today, that $500 million powerball prize. >> we heard the advice for the winner, take the lump sum of $327 million. now, because the fiscal cliff could make uncle sam's future cut soar. >> you could die and not get the other payments. there's other tips, of course, after you sign the ticket and put it in a safe place. get a lawyer, a financial adviser and an accountant. and our favorite tip, change

your phone number. >> and donate to us. we'll go on vacation with you. >> most important. the odds were also against this blue streak at a minneapolis hospital, delivering a parade of bouncing baby boys. >> from friday night to monday morning, the boys just kept coming at the university of minnesota medical center. 19 in a row. then, finally, a pink hat. baby girl broke the streak. >> finally. her dad happens to be the ceo of a diaper company. that's convenient. when he heard about the streak, he donated 3 months of diapers for the 19 boys. that's a lot of diapers. now, to another baby girl just 4 days old. and she's already trending. meet little hash tag jamison. you heard that right. it looks like her parents named her hash tag. and they announced her arrival on facebook. hash tag, as in twitter. this is not a hoax. we'll have to see if she'll write her name out or just use the little number symbol. >> we're going to call her hash taj.

check out this artist, who was using some unique items to create mosaics. it took more than 3,800 rubik's cubes to create an american legend. can you tell? it's clint eastwood. it looks just like him, in fact. the final creation is more than six feet tall. he did not build an empty chair, as well. >> here's a portrait of another star made from 20,000 dice. you can watch as it comes together. it turns out to be adrien brody. again, it looks remarkably like the actor. that's what i can do with all of the spare dice that i have in my house. >> yeah, get to work. see you in a few years. for some of you, now, your local news coming up next. ♪

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a look at live doppler shows where the storm is now. some areas already getting rain and strong winds. people are preparing as we face the first of several storms over the next few days. it is knocking on our door in sonoma county. in the next tw warmer than normal in the rockies. stormy with rain and snow, from san francisco, north to seattle. finally from us this morning, reality check. a new queen is reigning in the ballroom. >> capping a season of all-stars. a first-time winner sambaed her way to first place to clinch the much-sought-after mirrorball trophy. brandi hitt was there. >> reporter: good morning, rob and paula. what a finale, the best of the best. in the end, a fan favorite. melissa rycroft took home her first mirrorball trophy. >> melissa and tony. >> reporter: from underdog to "dancing with the stars"

all-stars champion. melissa rycroft won the title and the coveted mirrorball trophy. after ten weeks of dancing, the 13 contestants were narrowed down to 3, leading to the final challenge, the instant dance. melissa rycroft, who topped the judges' leaderboard monday night, drew the samba, with only minutes to rehearse. kelly monaco was given the jive. and shawn johnson drew the cha-cha. the contestants kicked up their heels for the first time. kelly was the first to be eliminated. then, came the big announcement. melissa rycroft clinched her first "dancing with the stars" victory. it was such a powerful moment. the whole, entire studio erupted when melissa's name was

announced. all three finalists are going to be taking the red-eye flight from los angeles, all the way to new york city, where you are, so they can appear on "good morning america" this morning. rob and paula? >> thanks a lot, brandi. i'm sure they're a little red-eyed right now. >> a little tired. >> just a touch. it should be fun. go check it out, yes. season 86 starts tomorrow. don't miss that. >> 297. >> about right. that is what's making news in america this morning. >> stick with us for "good morning america." have a wonderful wednesday, everybody. and good luck winning the powerball. >> yes. captioned by closed captioning services, inc. the first of a series of major storms is arriving in the bay area.